Small But Fierce
by PurdyBaby
Summary: After Inuyasha goes missing, Kagome wakes up to find him in a form the inutaichi is entirely unprepared to handle but come on now guys, how much trouble can a toddler really be? COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: YAY STORY NUMBER THREE!**

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 **Small But Fierce**

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" _Oh god dammit_ ," Inuyasha cursed under his breath as he flicked his hand trying to remove the blood and guts of the latest demon he'd managed to slay. It'd been a bitch to kill and the damn thing had exploded upon it's death drenching every inch of his body in thick hot blood and green ooze. Crouching down he tried to shake himself off but merely managed to get his blood and gut soaked hair plastered onto his face much to his companion's amusement.

"Oi! It's not fucking funny! I just saved all your pathetic lives. Give me a break," Inuyasha grumbled as he struggled to remove the long white hairs from his face. Finally he seemingly gave up the idea and stormed off into the treeline as he bellowed over his shoulder, "I'm gunna take a bath. Anyone got a problem with that?!"

At first, his extended absence hadn't bothered anyone. There had been copious amounts of nastiness covering his entire body after all. However, as the sun set and Inuyasha still had failed to return, an uneasy feeling settled in everyone's guts that only magnified when Miroku went to fetch the missing hanyou only to return with the still filthy fire rat in his hand.

"Kagome-chan, I'm sure he's fine," Sango mumbled unconvincingly, "He can take care of himself. I'm sure he'll be back by morning but it's too dark to go find him right now."

"If you say so," Kagome sighed as she crawled into her sleeping bag before whispering quietly to no one in particular, " _Inuyasha please be safe_."

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It was still early the following morning when Kagome felt Shippo crawl into the sleeping bag with her, probably due to some nightmare or something spooking him. Groaning slightly at the unexpected interruption, the miko adjusted herself to lay on her side and drew the small boy closer to her chest before lazily opening her eyes to glance down at him. In her sleep deprived mind it took an awkwardly long time to realize that the small boy in her arms was most definitely _not_ Shippo. Sitting bolt upright, she held the small terrified looking toddler out in front of her and stared at himincredulously as he cowered and stuck his clawed thumb securely in his mouth. In so many ways he looked _just_ like Inuyasha. His tiny amber eyes, white hair and small dog ears were almost identical. Blinking stupidly at the child, Kagome pulled his tiny face closer to her own before her eyes widened in understanding and she nearly dropped him in surprise.

"Inu… _Inuyasha_?" Kagome croaked. For a minute, the little boy stared at her anxiously, thumb still securely in his mouth as he slowly nodded.

"Do you…do you know who I am?" the miko tried to ask in a soothing tone of voice but it instead came out as a dry rasp. The boy slowly shook his head as his ears pinned back on his head. Seemingly doubting his life choices, he mumbled, "I dunno but... but you smell like me. You're my friend, yes?"

"I am your friend," Kagome cooed affectionately, giggling softly when his little ears perked up again and he reached out his tiny arms towards her in a silent request to be held. As Kagome took pity on his imploring puppy eyes and pulled him tightly to her chest, her mind raced to try to find any rational explanation. The problem was that - one - it was freaking early and -two- it was hard to think straight when the love of your life shows up as an insanely cute, naked _toddler_.

As he snuggled closer, Kagome hummed softly and scratched his little ears, loving when he cooed in approval and leaned into her touch. The adorable little thing seemed almost as exhausted as she felt. Yawning loudly, unintentionally showing off his itty bitty fangs - he adjusted himself to be more comfortable and nuzzled her gently. Rocking him gently in her arms, Kagome couldn't repress a soft smile when his small golden eyes drifted closed and his little fists bunched up the fabric of her nightshirt. Kagome tried her best not to disturb the now sleeping child as she laid back down into the sleeping bag and closed her eyes. She might as well try to get a little more sleep. By the looks of things, it was gunna be a long, exhausting type of day but she counted her blessings. It could've been _much_ worse. At _least_ Inuyasha had managed to come back to her in one piece.

Well... _sorta_.


	2. Chapter 2

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"Shouldn't… _ahem_ _hold on sorry_ …shouldn't it have _shrunk_ by now or _something_?" Sango snorted as she tried and failed to stop herself from devolving into giggles. The others weren't fairing much better as they stared at the increasingly nervous looking toddler currently drowning in the voluminous fire rat robes. Kagome shrugged – a grin seemingly permanently plastered on her face – before she moved forward and knelt down in front of him, "Have you always worn the same robe?"

Nodding solemnly, the tiny Inuyasha looked up at her with watery golden eyes as he whined softly, "Mother knows how they work. Do you know where she is?"

With those few little words, any humor the others found in this situation vanished instantly. Casting a pleading glance at the others, Kagome grimaced before turning back to him, her mind racing to find a placating response, "Um, well…she, uh, isn't with us but we'll take good care of you."

"Will you help me find her?" he pleaded desperately, tears welling in the corner of his amber eyes, "I…I didn't _mean_ to run away. I didn't, _promise_. She's gunna be real mad at me."

"Um, well she, uh…." Kagome spluttered anxiously before a terrible, terrible realization bloomed in her mind, " _Wait_ , when did you last see her?"

"Yesterday," he whispered quietly before giving her a desperate imploring stare as her blue eyes widened in horror, "I don't know how I got here, _honest_ but I'm sure glad I found you. Do you live at the castle?"

Everyone, minus Kagome, blanched as their eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Without thinking, Miroku blurted out before clapping a hand over his mouth, "Wait, you lived in a _castle_?!"

Giving the monk a quizzical look, Inuyasha nodded once before squirming uncomfortably in the giant robes, "Imma _lord_. Where did you _think_ I'd live?"

Holding his fist over his mouth to cover the grin that so desperately wanted to break free, Miroku quickly excused himself and damn near ran into the treeline where his muffled giggles could _still_ be heard. The poor monk felt _tremendously_ guilty for finding humor in the wholly unfunny situation but once the laughter began, they became increasingly difficult to control. The rude, ill tempered, completely uncouth hanyou was actually of royal blood. It kinda made sense based off of what they knew of Sesshomaru and honestly, Myoga did call him **lord** but _still_ ….

Huffing, the tiny half-demon growled before turning back to Kagome with an angry looking frown, "It's _not_ funny. He has _bad_ manners. _Bad_."

"Yeah, can't argue with you there," Kagome mumbled miserably as she glared into the tree line where the monk disappeared before sighing heavily, "Hey, why don't you and I go back to where you first realized you were lost? Was there a sword there? Can you show me?"

"I dunno about a sword but I need different clothes before I show you I think," Inuyasha agreed as he squirmed, making the billowing fabric rustle slightly around him, "These are too big."

"Well, I have a t-shirt I think might fit you," Kagome sighed as she got up and moved to her backpack before giving him an apologetic smile over her shoulder, "It's probably going to look like a dress though. Are you okay with that?"

Biting his lip, the tiny hanyou seriously considered saying no and just running around naked before nodding dejectedly and shimming out of the robe. His mother would be angry if he ran around like that and she was already going to be furious with him anyway. Giving the small boy a sympathetic smile, Shippo came bounding up to Kagome, "I think he would probably be more comfortable in my clothes. I'll wear the shirt, Kagome."

"That's very nice of you Shippo but I don't think you guys are the same size," Kagome cooed affectionately, "Once we figure out how this happened, I'll need to take him to my time to get him something more comfortable to wear until we can change him back or figure out how to shrink those robes."

"Where did 'Ippo get his clothes, 'Gome?" the small toddler asked suddenly as he shuffled up to the backpack and peered inside, "I like those colors. Maybe Mother would buy me some if I was really, _really_ good."

"Maybe so," Kagome sighed as she picked up her pajama shirt and held it up to his body to judge whether it'd fit him, "But don't you like your fire rat robes? Red is really a good color on you."

"But I wear the _same_ thing every day though," Inuyasha whined as the miko began working the oversized shirt over his head, "Mother won't _let_ me wear anything else."

"And why is that?" Kagome asked warmly, trying to hide the fact that she could most definitely guess _why_. Scrunching up his tiny face, he shrugged as he looked down to examine the soft cotton shirt and nodded once in approval. Wrapping his tiny claw hand around a few of her fingers, he tugged as he pointed in the direction that the much older version of himself had gone last night, "This way. Come on."

 **XXXXXXX**

It was _not_ that he kept tabs on Inuyasha's whereabouts. It truly was not and Sesshomaru would gladly strike down anyone who suggested as much. He was _merely_ in the area when he recognized a disturbance in the half-breed's aura. It only stood to reason that such a distinct alteration deserved a through investigation. His curiosity was merely to ensure that that despicable stain on his family didn't bring dishonor upon them, more so that had already been done of course.

"Rin, Jakken, we're leaving," the daiyoukai ordered stoically as he turned and began heading in the direction of that meddlesome Inuyasha who had managed yet again to get himself into some sort of mess.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: LOTS OF SPELLING ERRORS NOW FIXED. GOMEN!**

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"I'm _not_ a liar! There _was_ a spring here!" the tiny hanyou squeaked anxiously as they arrived at the clearing, " _See_! There's the sword! It was here, _honest_!"

"I believe you," Kagome grumbled miserably as she knelt down and picked up Tessaiga. The ground was still damp but there was no spring. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let out a soft dejectedly sigh as she glanced around. Great, just great. A mysterious spring that vanishes. Either it was a spring of you or a demonic something or another that drains life force or….who the heck knows. As she turned her eyes on the small boy sprinting around the area in a desperate search for the missing spring, she frowned. He still thought that his mother was alive and well. How was she supposed to explain that she'd been dead for years and that he was _however_ old he was.

"Hey come here for a second," Kagome called out to him, giving him a strained smile as he bounded up to her and leapt into her arms, "We gotta talk about some things."

Sticking his thumb back into his mouth, his eyes widened innocently and he cowered at the scent coming off of her. She reeked of worry and sadness. Whatever she had to say wasn't going to be good. Was she abandoning him? Was she upset with him? He'd _really_ been trying to be on his best behavior but he had been a little rude to the monk. Perhaps she _was_ cross.

Finding a fallen log, Kagome sat down and balanced the toddler on her knee before taking a deep sigh and starting, "So…um…so, your mother is in a, uh, place we can't bring you, okay?"

"Did I really go that far?" he whispered miserably as tears welled in the corner of his eyes, " _Oh_ , she's gunna be _so_ mad at me."

"No, she really wouldn't be," Kagome responded reassuringly, "She'd be really proud that you found your friends. I'm sure of it."

"Do you know her?" he asked quietly, noticing how she kept referring to his mother in past tense. It only made sense that these people knew him but it had never registered in his mind that her scent wasn't on them too. Why would only his scent be on them? It made no sense.

Kagome slowly shook her head, "I've never met her, Inuyasha, but you've been traveling with us for over a year."

"A _year_?" he responded anxiously as he began to tremble, "No, no, no that's not… I was…yesterday Mother and I had lessons and it was my birthday and I got a ball and…and…that's not right. You're a **liar**!"

Ripping his tiny body from her grasp, he bolted into the forest. Groaning, Kagome grimaced. She really didn't want to sit the toddler. She really, really didn't but there was no way she could let him get away from them in his condition.

"Sit," Kagome whispered dejectedly, flinching when she heard his surprised yip quickly followed up by a faint whimper. Walking slowly over to him, Kagome knelt down , noticing how his tiny body was shaking with the effort of holding back tears. The spell must've lifted by now and yet he had made no effort to move, instead choosing to cower on the ground before her, whimpering softly and sniffling. Deflating slightly, Kagome reached down and scooped him into his arms, rocking him gently as tears began cascading down his face like water breaking free from a dam. She'd been dancing around the issue out of fear of hurting him but maybe…just _maybe_ she should be honest.

"I'm sorry I had to do that but you can't run away from us. We're all you have," Kagome began softly as she stroked his cheek with her thumb, "Yesterday you were an _adult_. You went to take a bath after we fought a demon and you came back to us like this, okay? We, uh…I didn't want to be the one to tell you that your mother passed away a long time ago but you're a grown up now so that's _normal_ , okay? I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so, _so_ sorry but I'm going to take care of you, _alright_? I'm going to keep you safe until we figure this out. I promise."

Her apologies didn't help anything, if anything it made his sobs that much worse as he clung desperately to her blouse. Unfortunately the permanency or even the true meaning of death didn't quite compute in his tiny mind. All that did register was overwhelming confusion and feeling of abandonment. His mother had left him alone with these strangers with no intent to return. That much was becoming quite clear. The strange girl holding on him did seem familiar, however, so perhaps _she_ had been taking care of him. He wasn't so sure he believed her about being an adult - that seemed quite silly and actually impossible even. And so he cried at a loss of what else he could really do or say. Thirty minutes passed by where Kagome rocked him gently in her arms and let him cry it out before they slowly subsided into light sniffles and he swallowed thickly. After a few hiccups, tiny bloodshot amber eyes met her blue before he asked tentatively, "You...you _promise_ you'll take care of me until we find her?"

Nodding, Kagome grimaced. Apparently he hadn't understood but she couldn't bring herself to force the issue upon him. Holding him away from her slight, she smiled softly as Inuyasha began sucking him thumb and playing with a lock of his silver hair seemingly at a loss for how to react or proceed. Hooking a finger under his chin to force him to look at her, Kagome gave him a sympathetic smile as she whispered, "So yesterday was your birthday, huh? You want to come with me? I'll get you a present and maybe even some cake?"

"Kay, I'll go with you but only until we find her again," he sniffled, a few more tears leaking free as Kagome carried him back to the rest of the strangers his mother had apparently left him with. At least he wasn't alone. They'd bring him back to his mother eventually. There was no way she was truly gone. She loved him. She wouldn't leave him behind if she could help it.

 **XXXXXXX**

A single silver shinidamachū flew silently towards his mistress carrying some interesting news. The hanyou she so often sought out had been altered in a very alarming fashion. As he landed and curled up around her, he relayed the news and was somewhat surprised by her reaction for his mistress laughed, _actually_ laughed. Not out of bitterness or mocking anger but of actual amusement. It was enough to make the silver serpent flinch away from her and fly off to join his brethren.

"Take me to him," Kikyo sighed as she shook her head, a soft smile on her lips, "This I _must_ see for myself."


	4. Chapter 4

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The reflection in the small pool of water had been so beautiful at first but even after only a few hours, slight crow's feet had already begun to form. If that _stupid_ hanyou hadn't managed to escape before she managed to suck his essence dry then her youthful beauty would've lasted a century at _least_. She'd spent most of the night attempting to find the little brat but by the time she did, he had managed to find that sordid group of so-called friends.

In all honesty, she had been surprised he had fallen into his trap but then again, his sense of smell _must_ have been overwhelmed by that stench. He had been covered in demonic entrails. Never having managed to trap a demon – all her prior victims had been human – she was more than a little thrilled at the prospect. Still, in order for it to work he needed to have died but that was something _easily_ remedied.

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Balancing the toddler on her hip, Kagome walked up the well as she tried to explain what was about to occur. The poor thing had been clinging to her as though she'd disappear if he let go and while adorable, it _was_ beginning to get on her nerves a bit. She'd packed Tessiaga and the firerat in her already overflowing backpack and balancing all her stuff as well as a toddler on her hip was getting to be a bit much.

"So I'm going to jump in here to get to my home, alright?" she cooed, "It's going to smell bad and be really loud so be prepared."

"Why is it gunna smell bad and be noisy?" he asked innocently as he rested his head on her shoulder before asking timidly, "Can we take a nap when we get there? I'm real sleepy."

"Well we're going to the future," Kagome said before giggling at the way his head shot up and he gave her an anxious doe eyed look, "But don't worry. It'll be okay and I'll put you down for a nap once we get into the house."

"'Kay," he yawned before sticking his thumb in his mouth and laying his head back down – not quite as relaxed as he was a few seconds earlier. After a few moments, he removed his thumb and frowned as he asked timidly, "Is it gunna hurt?"

"No, it won't hurt," Kagome sighed as she rubbed his back before climbing awkwardly over the lip of the well, "It'll be tingly but it won't hurt."

"'Kay," he sighed tiredly, nuzzling her shoulder before a thought seemingly occured to him and he picked his head up to stare at her with wide eyes. Grinning sheepishly, he added in a hopeful tone, "So I'll get _cake_? What _kind_?"

"I dunno. How about we'll have whatever type of cake you want," Kagome chuckled lightly as she hopped into the well and the blue light engulfed them.

 **XXXXXXX**

"Aren't you the _cutest_ little thing?" Kagome's mother cooed as Inuyasha half-hid behind Kagome's legs and sucked his thumb with such vengeance it was a wonder it didn't blister. Giggling girlishly, Kagome mother looked up at her daughter and grinned, "I still have some clothes from when Sota was small. I'll go get them."

"Alright, you want that nap?" Kagome asked affectionately as she patted the side of his little head. Nodding, he stretched his arms up and prepared to pounce before the miko quickly knelt down and beat him to the punch. Why he always wanted to be carried when he was more than capable of walking himself was a mystery to her but hey, whatever kept him happy. Moving to retrieve the fire rat, Kagome made her way up the stairs and laid him down on the bed before wrapping the over-sized robes around him. Hopefully, if they were around him long enough they'd shrink to fit him. They had managed to clean itself by some unknown magic and she'd seen it stitch itself up before so hopefully it would just do what it was made to do. Blinking sluggishly at her, he pouted slightly and stretched one small hand up to her, "You cuddle me?"

Groaning inwardly, Kagome scooped him up and maneuvered into the bed before pulling him towards her chest as she had done so often with Shippo – _only_ Shippo didn't squirm quite so much or coo happily when she held him. It was strange considering what a grouchy adult he made that Inuyasha seemed to be relatively well-adjusted and shy as a kid but then again, it actually did make quite a lot of sense. It was understandable how years of being hunted by humans and demons alike would make you jaded. Based on what she knew, he couldn't have been much older than four or five when his mother died which meant the majority of his life he'd been alone. He'd hinted as much on several occasions. What kinds of things had he really had to do to survive? Had he killed a lot of demons and humans in his life time? It also seemed strange that he never mentioned exactly _how_ his mother died. Was it illness or was it something much, _much_ more terrible?

With a gentle sigh, Kagome placed a kiss atop his head before closing her eyes and drifting off.

 **XXXXXXX**

"That bitch took him through here. I'm _sure_ of it," the demoness hissed as she tried to find the secret switch that led to where they were hiding him. As far as she could tell, it was just an ordinary dry well that led nowhere special yet she _saw_ them jump inside. This merely wouldn't do. Pouting, the demoness leapt from the well and charged into the woods. There was one demon who might be able to lure him out without raising suspicion and she might even get two demons for the price of one.


	5. Chapter 5

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"Tell me truthfully," Kikyo asked, her stoic mask cracking slightly as the corners of her lips twitched upwards, "Has Inuyasha been turned into a child?"

Sango and Miroku merely narrowed their eyes at the unexpected visitor that had graced them with her presence as they checked the perimeter of the village – something that traditionally had been done by Inuyasha but given the circumstances was left to them.

"Believe me when I say I would _never_ harm a child, _even_ a hanyou one," Kikyo said plainly, her eyes sparkling with an emotion neither of the two had ever seen before, "I merely came to see if I could assist in any way and to see whether it was true for myself."

"How did you even hear such a rumor?" Sango spat back acidly – the undertones of concern evident in her voice despite her best efforts to keep it in check. Smirking slightly, Kikyo merely gestured to her soul collectors causing both the slayer and monk to grimace. Apparently the dead miko had been keeping tabs on them which made them increasingly uneasy. If she had been able to spy on them without them knowing, then god knows who else had been doing so. With a heavy sigh, Sango nodded once, "Do you know of any way of reversing such a spell?"

Instead of the stoic, calm and somewhat bitter response they expected, a far more unsettling reaction began. A snort erupted from the miko – her giggles timid at first, stopping and starting as she tried to rein it in but it was clear that she was failing to keep it in check. Biting her lip, a great shaking motion overcame her chest and her facial muscles grew tighter until her laughter broke free much like a bust from a dam arching into brilliant summer sky. Unstrained gales debilitated her as she doubled over, tears leaking from her eyes while the two onlookers merely folded their arms in front of their chests and waited for her to regain control. Waving her hand in the air as a flag of apology, she wasn't quite sure why the waves of laughter keep coming but it was a welcome change from the depression that normally clouded her mind.

"He's…he's a _toddler_?!" Kikyo cackled as she leaned against a tree to support herself, "Oh, I _must_ see him. Please. _Please_ let me see this for myself. This is almost too much."

"He's not here at the moment," Miroku snapped, trying to fight off a bout of laughter himself at the bizarre spectacle in front of him. After a few minutes, a very pink faced Kikyo sighed happily, wiping a tear from her eye before grinning at the two incredulous looking spectators before her, "In that case, I'll wait."

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Sighing, Kagome groggily opened her eyes and blinked sluggishly at her wall before realizing something or rather someone was missing from her arms. Sitting bolt upright, Kagome looked around for the missing toddler as she called out for him in a sing-songy tune. For a moment there was silence, then she heard muffled giggle coming from inside her closet as well as the not so subtle shuffle of feet.

"Oh _no_! I can't find Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped in false surprise as she slowly got up from the bed and looked around, " _Wherever_ could he _be_? I can't find him _anywhere_!"

"I'm not in here!"came a small voice followed up a muffled snickering. Kagome smirked as she pointedly ignored his admission and continued looking around - opening drawers and looking everywhere _except_ the closet where he was clearly hiding. As she approached the door, Sota's aggravated voice suddenly carried up the stairs, " _ **MOM**_! _Someone_ broke the jar and ate _all_ the pickles and it _wasn't_ me!"

Groaning, Kagome opened the door to see a cackling Inuyasha giving her a proud grin as he whispered excitedly, "It was me."

Grimacing Kagome knelt down in front of him and asked quietly, "Why did you do that?"

"No one said _not_ to eat them," he answered innocently before a devilish grin spread over his face, " _And_ they were _really_ good."

"Well, don't eat anything unless I approve it first, okay? You're going to clean that up as punishment," Kagome sighed as she picked him up and moved to pick up the _admittedly_ smaller but still overly large fire rat robe. Wrapping it around him, she got half-way down the stairs before she nearly went deaf when Inuyasha squealed at the top of his lungs. Easily breaking out of her hold, the toddler jumped effortlessly onto the bannister before launching himself into the air and charging towards the terrified looking Buyo who had just decided to come in the still swinging cat door.

" ** _CAT_**!" the toddler squealed excitedly as he charged with Kagome hot on his heels, trying and failing to catch him before he grabbed the poor cat.

"Don't be rough with him!" Kagome snapped anxiously as Inuyasha wrapped his little arms around the annoyed but _incredibly_ lazy cat and squeezed with all his might earning a pissed off sounding growl yet little other resistance. Holding up his prize, Inuyasha announced once more that it was, _indeed_ , a cat before plopping down and holding the poor thing's tiny paws up in the air, wiggling him slightly as the toddler cooed nonsense. For a moment Kagome had to repress a snort at the all too familiar behavior. Apparently Inuyasha had _always_ loved to torture poor little kitty cats. How many times had she come into her home only to find the adult him doing the same exact thing?!

"Alright, I'll let you play for five more minutes then you're cleaning up your mess and we've got to head back," Kagome sighed in a resigned tone as she herself plopped down into the kitchen chair to watch over him and make sure he didn't accidentally kill their family pet.

 **XXXXXXX**

"My Lord, isn't this near the village where your brother lives?" Rin asked in a shrewd tone of voice, "Are we visiting him?"

"This Sesshomaru cares not for that half-breed. He is no brother of mine," the daiyoukai answered – managing to keep his tone neutral as he continued towards the clearing where Inuyasha's scent disappeared. Rin chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment before asking quietly, "But we _are_ going to see him, yes?"

Grimacing internally, Sesshomaru declined to answer. Luckily he didn't have to address her question as Jakken began shrieking about how impertinent a question that had been. Verifying his suspicion without drawing the attention of either follower would most definitely be a tricky thing to accomplish.

"Rin, Jakken, stay here," he ordered as the scent he had been seeking suddenly reappeared, "This Sesshomaru shall…"

A sudden high-pitched squeal, the miko's distant shouts to return, and the sounds of something darting towards them at surprising speed had the daiyoukai turning around just in time to see a small, silver blur launching towards him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know some of the characters are a little off but come on now, it's fanfiction!**

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Holding her torch a little higher, the fire flickered casting an ominous glow throughout the seemingly endless cave and causing shivers to ripple across her body. Slowly, the demoness dragged her clawed hand across the wall, picking up dust and grime before rubbing it between her fingers and giving it a long sniff. Oh, yes. They were in here alright. What might seem like usual cave fodder to most were the only evidence of the massive quantities of congealed blood and venom that had been spilt in these walls.

Continuing a short ways, the demoness smirked as an eerie melody began floating through the air followed by the sweet scent of cherry blossoms and jasmine. To any other being it would have soothed their very soul and caused them to drift off so the real prize could be snatched away yet to this demoness it was merely irksome.

"You can stop all that nonsense. Doesn't work on me I'm afraid. I'm here to strike a deal," the demoness snapped acidly. Instantly the music stopped as a small fairy like creature floated out to greet her followed by several more. Their wings were soft as petals and colored just as gay. They didn't paint their lips or stain their cheeks, but there was no need, for they were deceptively beautiful all their own. They sung with voices only children could hear, although the underlying melody had an ulterior purpose. They collected flowers, coins, and sweets - smuggled from others of course - so they could bribe their victims to meet their early demise.

"I have a proposition," the demoness began, "All I'm after is the children in a specific village of demon descent. You can have the rest."

"How many children?" the largest fairy asked suspiciously, "And what _type_ of resistance?"

"Nothing you haven't dealt with before," the demoness crooned, "A few demons, a miko and some slayers."

"Oh yes, so _very_ simple," a smaller fairy spat sarcastically , " _Whatever_ could go wrong."

"You have the numbers," the demoness retorted, "And the magic to overwhelm them all."

"Pardon _me_ if I don't believe you," the fairy responded acidically, "What else you got?"

"How about you keep whatever jewel shards the miko has on her," the demoness answered as she smirked. Eyes widening in surprise, the fairies quickly merged to collaborate before the largest fairy emerged, "We shall take you on your offer on one additional condition."

"Which is?" the demoness sighed heavily.

"We get whatever is left of their bodies," the fairy grinned wickedly. Without a moment's hesitation the demoness agreed.

 **XXXXXXX**

" ** _FATHER_**!" the small toddler squealed as he landed on the shoulder of the uncharacteristically stricken daiyoukai, " ** _I FOUND YOU! I FOUND YOU_**!"

Sesshomaru had always prided himself as one who was not rattled by _anything_ – save the few times Rin had been captured or in serious danger. Yet as the small hanyou latched himself securely onto his arm and tugged excitedly, all the daiyoukai could do is stare dumbly at him with his mouth hanging partially open.

"Come on! Come on! Mama will be _so_ happy to see you!" the toddler chirped happily before adding in a manic sounding tone as his eyes dilated and a grin spread over his face, "And you can come stay with us and we'll be a family and…"

" ** _Enough_**!" Sesshomaru hissed as he easily flung the small child off his arm. Careening into the forest, the toddler's face crumpled and he began sniffling pathetically before breaking out into full blown wails. Instantly, Rin's face fell faster than a corpse in cement boots. Her mouth hung with lips slightly parted and her eyes were as wide as they could stretch as she rushed forward to try to comfort the toddler that her Lord had so carelessly discarded. As the daiyoukai watched helplessly at the utterly devastated and judgmental look in his ward's eye, something flashed beneath the surface of his hardened expression before it vanished as quickly as it came.

"Oh, it's _alright_ ," Rin cooed shakily as she knelt before the small silver haired boy with big fat tears streaming down his small flushed face, "Don't cry. I'm sure my Lord didn't _mean_ to throw you. Lord Sesshomaru was just surprised. That's all."

"He… threw…me…really… _really_ …hard!" Inuyasha sobbed pitifully from his place on the forest floor, "He's… _not_ …my…daddy…he's…too… _mean_!"

"No, Lord Sesshomaru is _not_ your father," Rin cooed placatingly as she pulled a small handkerchief from within her kimono and began wiping the dirt off his face, "What's your name?"

"Inuyasha," the toddler sniffled, his sobs slowly subsiding as he whimpered pathetically and rubbed his nose on his small t-shirt. Rin blanched visibly as her eyes narrowed and she cast an accusatory glance at her Lord over her shoulder before turning back towards the small boy, "Well my name is Rin and my Lord is your brother, okay? Where did you come from?"

That question was answered before the small boy could open his mouth as Kagome began crashing through the clearing a little ways in front of them – twigs in her hair and her face flushed from anger as she muttered under her breath " _Inuyasha, you little brat! Wait 'till I get ahold of you, I'm gunna…oh nooooo_."

Sapphire eyes widened in horror as she took in the sight of Rin crouching over the watery eyed Inuyasha and Sesshomaru standing not far behind.

" _Heeyyy_ you guys," Kagome chuckled nervously as she slowly approached to grab Inuyasha and run like hell, "Um, so I see you found, _uh_ , this little guy. I'll just, uh, take him back now and be on my way."

"How old is he?" Rin asked as she placed the now soiled handkerchief back whence it came, "He can't be older than three or four."

"The half-breed in this form is roughly ten or eleven if memory serves correctly," came Sesshomaru's uncharacteristic gruff response which had everyone in the clearing staring at him like he had grown a second head for _more_ than one reason. His answer implied so much and yet very little. Cocking her head to the side, Kagome looked down on him and sighed. In a way she felt ashamed for never asking Inuyasha's true age. He must've been much older when his mother died – probably from old age given the time span. Inuyasha always acted so immature she'd just assumed but if this toddler was really that old then that must've meant the poor hanyou had spent _decades_ upon _decades_ fighting to survive on his own.

"How old was he before?" Kagome asked quietly as she knelt down and pulled the still sniffling toddler into her lap. Almost as if on cue, back that thumb went into his mouth like the security blanket it undoubtedly was. Knowing how bad a habit that was from her memories of Sota, Kagome frowned and fruitlessly tried to remove the digit before giving up on the idea.

Sesshomaru paused – that unknown emotion flickering over his face once more – before answering in a stoic tone, "This Sesshomaru believes him to be around one hundred fifty years of age."

"Rin couldn't help but notice that my Lord referred to his memory to determine Inuyasha's age," Rin clipped in an agitated tone before adding in a cold tone of voice that made Kagome _extremely_ uncomfortable and want to crawl under a rock for cover of the undoubtedly vicious backlash her words were _going_ to cause, " _Surely_ , my Lord _would_ not and _will_ not abandon a young child in his time of need."

As the miko held her breath, her eyes darted anxiously between the seething little girl and the stoic as ever daiyoukai as they stared each other down. Kagome nearly passed out, when Sesshomaru sighed and jutted his bottom lip out, redirecting the air-flow to his long bangs. For that brief moment his silver hair fanned upwards before resettling just over his eyes as he seemingly submitted to his ward's request and moved forwards towards the young toddler being held by a shocked speechless Kagome who stared blankly ahead and was blinking sluggishly as though her brain had just short-circuited.

"Give me the child," Sesshomaru sighed as he knelt down before her, "This Sesshomaru shall care for him until a solution is found."

Snapping out of her stupor, Kagome shook her head as she clutched the small toddler to her chest, " ** _No!_** You're not taking him _anywhere_. He's staying with me!"

"Very well," Sesshomaru began in a monotonous tone with slightly relieved undertones, "Rin, Jakken we shall…"

"Of _course_ , Rin and her Lord will stay with you as well," Rin suddenly interrupted in a forced cheery tone before adding in a tone that left no room for argument, " _Won't_ we, my Lord?"

If looks could kill, Rin would've died on the spot and she knew it too but rather than cowering in submission, the small girl merely smirked knowing she had won as she once again knelt down before the small toddler and reached up to fondle one of his ears. As the toddler cooed happily when her fingers made contact and buried his face on Kagome's shoulder, the small girl whispered excitedly to the miko who looked like she might faint on the spot, "Rin has _always_ wanted to touch his ears."


	7. Chapter 7

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 **Small But Fierce**

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Rin was actually a surprisingly good babysitter. She played games with him of the usual variety and kept him entertained. At first that is. All that changed when she had to change his clothes and then all _hell_ broke loose.

"No, no, no, don't cry. Don't cry! Uh, you want to take a nap? Let's take a nap! Maybe if you go to sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up," Rin cooed desperately as she pulled the sobbing baby boy into her lap and brushed a few loose strands behind his ear, obviously at her wits end. Kagome snorted slightly as she rested her chin on her knees. Rin had insisted she could handle it but the tantrum had been going on for the past ten minutes and while Kagome had offered to take him, Rin refused to hand him over. A nap seemed like a desperate last ditch effort though and Kagome couldn't help but feel like that line was the human equivalent of "have you tried turning it on and off again." It wasn't a bad idea. Just like restarting a machine, a lot of times naps worked to reset your system. Or she hoped they did anyway.

Sighing Kagome scooted closer and before her arms managed to get even half unfurled, Rin thrust the small toddler into her arms and rushed out of the hut, eager to escape his seemingly pointless caterwauling.

"Now what's really the problem. You need to use words, I can't read your mind," Kagome cooed affectionately in a calm even tone...or she tried to sound that way at least. The clipped tone with no lack of frustration was as close as she was gunna get and she knew it . Sniffling slightly - tears still casacading down his face - he merely shook his head miserably before devolving into ear splitting wails once more. Rolling her eyes, Kagome began looking him over before placing him on the ground where he promptly threw himself down onto the dirt to bawl some more as she retrieved a pair of pajamas. Magically, the instant she pulled the small shirt off his back, the crying lessened to a few faint whimpers.

"You...you didn't like the **_shirt_**? _**That's** _what's this has been all about?! _**Seriously**_!?" Kagome groaned, rolling her eyes when he nodded miserably. Huffing, the miko looked the shirt over a few times before a small insignificant detail - or not so insignificant as it turned out - caught her attention. There was...wait for it... a small _tag_ on the side. Oh, the _horror_. As she fingered the small black piece of fabric, she smacked herself mentally at the minor oversight. Hell, she cut tags out her own clothes and his skin was probably ten times more sensitive, it must've been bothering him. Still, couldn't he have used _words_?! Damn!

"It was itchy," he sniffled before sticking his thumb back in its _favorite_ place and threading a lock of hair through his clawed fingers.

"I see," Kagome groaned exasperatedly as she carefully inspected the pajamas for any offending tags. Finding none, she quickly maneuvered his little arms into the onesie and held her breath until it was clear that no further tantrums were oncoming. Scooping him into her arms, she moved over to the sleeping bag. Tucking him in it only took her a few moments to realize that napping was the last thing he wanted to do as he quickly disengaged himself and tried to stand to make a break for it. _Dear god_ , Kagome thought to herself, she couldn't imagine how his poor mother felt having to deal with a toddler for years on end. She felt exhausted and he'd only been a toddler for a few days - if that.

"No, you need to take a nap," Kagome sighed as she reached out to try to force him to lay down. Sensing the game was up, he leapt into the rafters of the hut and glared down at her as he growled out a quick ' _no_ '.

"Let's go down for a nap. You like naps and you've had a _very_ busy day," Kagome tried to coax the tiny little shit down. Scrunching up his tiny brow, he stuck his tongue out at her as his tiny eyes darted between her and the door.

"No, don't you do it," Kagome warned as she followed his gaze, "Inuyasha, no, no, you need to..."

Quick as a flash he lunged and rushed towards the door before shrieking and making a beeline into Kagome's arms - causing her to 'omph' loudly on impact. The reason for his back pedaling quickly became clear as Kikyo appeared in the door frame.

"I did not mean to alarm him," Kikyo voiced quietly, a soft smile on her face, "But I imagine I'm not familiar."

"She smells _bad_ 'Gome. Real bad," the small hanyou voiced in an awkwardly loud and clear tone that had the miko grimacing and clenching her eyes shut before they flew open when she heard a distinct snort. There had been a lot of weird things happening recently but the sight of Kikyo with a silly grin on her face and barely restraining giggles was the icing on top of the weirdness cake.

"I imagine I don't smell very nice," Kikyo snickered quietly, "There's only so many things to do to fix that when you're a walking corpse."

Before she could stop herself, Kagome demonstrated exactly what the adult Inuyasha had managed to teach her in the time they'd been together and instantly regretted her life decisions.

" _What the fuck is happening_?!" she muttered under her breath before freezing when she heard a soft giggle and the word was repeated back to her in a small child-like voice quickly followed by the dead miko almost dying a second time. Only this time the cause of death would undoubtedly be laughter.

"You're, uh, handling this well," Kagome muttered miserably as Inuyasha continued to chirp the obscene word as though it was the greatest thing he'd ever heard. Kikyo nodded and grinned, still snickering lightly, "Well I would be lying if I said I smelled like roses. I know what I am. I no longer try to hide it."

When ignoring his tirade clearly wasn't working, Kagome held the small boy in front of her and chided, "That's a _bad_ word. If I hear you say it again, I'll wash your mouth out with soap! You hear me?"

Giving her a sheepish grin, Inuyasha squirmed to try to escape and share his newfound word with the others before Kagome pulled him closer to her face, "Don't _. S_ ay. That. Word. Got that?"

Pouting, his lower lip quivered for a moment before he nodded solemnly and had the good graces to look mildly ashamed... _very_ mildly.

"Now, you're going to go in time out, mister. You weren't nice to Lady Kikyo and you used a bad word," Kagome announced sternly as she began to walk out the door with him on her hip before pausing when she heard his softly muttered apology...and how he called her Mama. For a moment she froze before pulling him in front of her, "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Brother said Mother wasn't coming back. That she was gone," he whimpered pathetically as his face crumpled and tears welled in the corners of his eyes, "So, so that must mean she doesn't love me anymore and...and that she left me behind. Will you be my Mama?"

"She loved you very, very much Inuyasha. She's just...she didn't have a choice. She's somewhere she couldn't take you. She's passed on, she's not here anymore," Kagome groaned before realizing he still somehow didn't understand and that she hadn't answered his true question when the distinct look of rejection flashed through his eyes. With a very strained smile, Kagome begrudgingly gave him the go ahead to call her Mama before huffing and continuing out the door. Either way, Mama or not he was going in time out. Kagome just had to hope that once he was an adult again he would not, repeat would _**not**_ , see her as his mother.

Kikyo gave the retreating pair a sympathetic, wistful look before kneeling down and picking up the discarded tiny clothing. In a way, she couldn't help but think that perhaps the tiny hanyou looked like how their children would have if she hadn't been so preoccupied with her own fears about the future. The thought of being chased and hunted when all she wanted was to live a normal life had clouded her judgment and made her so focused on how to make their lives more simple that she almost forgot how much she loved him just as he was. Fear of the unknown often makes people do stupid, stupid things and that was one of her biggest regrets – aside from how she allowed bitterness to consume her upon her rebirth. Laughter seemed like such a strange yet effective tool against the howling monster of sadness and bitterness swirling unchecked through her soul. Hopefully, her reincarnation would not make such mistakes that she had, that she would not suffer the same fate for the dead miko knew their children would be the cutest little part demons that ever walked the earth. From the bottom of her soul, Kikyo hoped she would live long enough to see the outcome of such a union should the adult hanyou get his head out of his ass long enough to see that his future was right in front of him. _Oh_ , how she hoped their children possessed those ears.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It's Halloween so I'm harnessing a little Sarah Jessica Parker from Hocus Pocus. "Come Little Children"**

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With a voice no louder than the soft whisper of waving grass, the fairy began to quietly whisper her song. Then beating her tiny filamentous wings she buzzed almost soundlessly overhead dusting the village in a thick coating of tasteless, scent free mist. Once sure that the adults had entered a deeper level of slumber, she removed a small flute and signaled the others of join in her song.

 ** _Come Little Children,  
I'll take thee away,  
Into a land of enchantment_** **.**

The music of her flute and sweet voice came quick, rather brilliant like a call-note, or like a long quick message, half command. To the small children sleeping soundly in the village it was like a pure mother's croon -as beautiful as a blackbird's when he sings the coming of morning: it sounded of a mother's love, not only calling, but telling them something, telling them they were loved, and soothing their souls to follow.

 ** _Come little children,  
The times come to play,  
Here in my garden of magic._**

The fairies threw a dust into the air as they continued their deceptively sweet song. Unlike confetti or glitter, gravity had no way to make it fall. The dust swirled in the air above, a glorious cloud. As they swirled their limbs, it swirled too, changing its colors with the rhythm of a beating heart.

 ** _Follow sweet children,  
I'll show ye the way,  
Through all the pain and the sorrow._**

One by one the children of the village emerged from their homes, eyes glazed over unnaturally as they smiled eerily at the small beings floating gaily above them. As each particle touched their skin it gave them a tingle of energy that soaked right into the core of their bones making them feel safe and loved. As the children sighed happily, the fairies' wings vibrated all the faster and their lust for bloodshed grew.

 ** _Weep not poor children,  
For life is this way,  
Murdering beauty and passion._**

Inuyasha blinked lazily in the arms of his surrogate mother as the most beautiful scent overwhelmed his senses and had him releasing a small shuddering sigh. Slowly maneuvering out of the sleeping bag, he securely placed his thumb in his mouth as tears welled in the corners of his eyes. His mother was calling him, she had come back to him singing the most beautiful song. It had been so long since she had sang to him. She had been so sad recently, hardly eating and staring blankly ahead. There were times when she tried to smile at him but it never reached her eyes. If she was singing, maybe...just _maybe_...

 ** _Rest now my children,  
For soon we'll away,  
Into the Calm and the Quiet._**

Sniffing a few times, Shippo felt his heart ache. His mother was singing to him in his dream. As he sat up, the song continued and a warm feeling spread through his veins. It wasn't a dream at all. She was here, calling to him. It had been decades since he had heard her sweet voice and until that moment, he hadn't realized how much he had missed her voice. It seemed strange she had not sung to him recently but the reason escaped him. Hopping gently down from Kirara's back, he ventured outside the hut in search of her.

 ** _Come little children,  
I'll take thee away,  
Into a land of enchantment._**

Burying her face into her Lord's fur, Rin groaned slightly as a strange melody filtered into her ears. It sounded familiar, like she had heard it before although she couldn't place from where. It was beautiful and it called to her. Over the song, she could hear all too familiar voice. Blinking sluggishly, Rin scrunched up her face in confusion as she looked around her. It seemed strange to wake up in such a foreign place. No wonder her mother was looking for her.


	9. Chapter 9

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 **Small But Fierce**

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Sighing happily, Kikyo rested her head against the aged bark of the Sacred Tree. It was so strange how at peace she felt. Such a trivial thing as Inuyasha being turned into a small child had somehow broken through the cloud of depression and bitterness that had so long hung over her head. Within the course of a few days, she breathed easier and her outlook on whatever type of life she lived seemed so much more positive. Lazily watching the fireflies as they danced across the meadow, the corners of her lips twitched upward before a haunting melody wafted into her ears and a strong demonic aura suddenly hovered above the village. Throwing up a barrier, she quickly got to her feet and looked down in mild horror at the children following the strange creatures floating above them – the adults seemingly unaware or incapacitated. Slowly making her way down, as stealthily as she could manage, the first thing and the most telling was the sight of Sesshomaru seemingly dead to the world collapsed in an uncomfortable looking position on the ground.

Taking a shaky breath, Kikyo followed them. Knowing it was up to her to save those poor children from whatever fate those fairies had in store.

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As the children – one by one- entered the dank, damp cave their bodies began to glow unnaturally, their eyes drifting closed as they obediently sat down without a word being uttered in a single file line. The eerire melody continued to drift though the air, amongst the sudden beating of hundreds of tiny wings and the evil cackles echoing all around them until an angry sounding voice cut through the noise.

"Take those urchins but, I get these three," the demoness barked as the fairies hissed angrily, their beautiful forms morphing into angry, grotesque beings with vicious teeth and crimson eyes.

" ** _THAT WASN'T THE ARRANGEMENT_** ," the largest fairy bellowed angrily, "You **_only_** get the **_demons_**!"

"This human _belongs_ to a demon. That's _basically_ the same thing," the demoness retorted angrily, "You can smell it all over her!"

"Go ahead and take her. We've got plenty here," another fairy snapped, "But remember who gets their bodies when you're through with them."

"I'm glad you agree," the demoness smirked, "It would've been a pity to kill your mind when you've been so helpful."

Quickly escorting the three children out into the forest, she was so ecstatic that she failed to notice the scent of graveyard soil growing closer and closer.

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The dead miko was shocked that they hadn't sensed her aura as she slowly slunk along the rocky face of the cliff, inching closer and closer to the cave entrance still the overall demonic aura may have overpowered her own. Drawing her bow at the ready and nocking an arrow, she crept towards the entrance until she was faced with a sight that was tore at her very soul. Inuyasha wasn't there but what was there were a hoarde of angry looking beasts already feasting on one poor soul whose blank lifeless eyes merely stared ahead at the other children who emotionlessly watched as though it were the most normal thing in the world.

Releasing a shaky breath, Kikyo scanned the area for any sign of the fox kit before smirking darkly and letting her arrow fly decimating every last one of those beasts in a single shot. For a moment she hesitated as the children one by one woke from their trance – ear splitting wails and screams filling the air once they realized one of their own had fallen.

"Children, quickly, leave this cave at once and come with me," Kikyo whispered anxiously as she ushered the children into a clearing and quickly set up sutras around them – forming a protective bubble, "This should hold until I return. It will protect. Wait here and I'll…"

A ear-splitting scream of pain that told of terror and disbelief stole the breath from her body as she stood bolt upright and tried to trace Inuyasha's demonic aura. Once she honed in on his location, she took off – running faster than she ever believed possible to do – as his rescue party of one. She'd save him if it was the last thing she ever did.

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In the crimson eyes woman's palm lay a small rusted blade set in aged wood. Cold and ruthless, a weapon without kindness. It instilled terror in all the souls trapped within their own bodies everytime a thin beam of moonlight furitively ran over in the velvet darkness, bringing the knife into the light.

With a flick of her wrist a small shimmering pool appeared and without question her three victims slowly moved wordlessly towards the inviting water. Before the silver haired bastard was able to make it inside, she yanked him back and gazed upon his face, his amber eyes unnaturally glazed over seeing and yet not.

"Oh no, not you. I have something more satisfying planned for you," she crooned as she drug her claws down his face, leaving angry red lines behind them. Lifting her knife, she inhaled as a wicked grin grew over her face.

The knife met flesh, soft and pudgy, and made a satisfying squish as the tip of the blade sank deep enough to make her victim scream. Closing her eyes, the woman relished in the sound of the half-demon's suffering. For all the trouble he'd caused, he deserved a drawn out demise. Twisting the blade in her hands, all the while sinking it deeper and deeper. His skin was tearing to shreds as the knife rotated, the sound of his muscles and nerves being gouged growing louder. Then, without warning, the demoness plunged it all the way into his back, until the shiny metal had disappeared inside him and the black handle was pushing against his broken skin. His small terrified cry was a a brilliant sound, guttural chokes mixed with an agonized roar. Smirking, the demoness pulled the blade out of her now deathly white victim who sank to his knees, continuing to scream, convulsing and trembling like a rabid animal and thick blood flowing freely from the gaping hole in his stomach until suddenly there was silence as his aura began to crackle ominously.

At first the demoness assumed it was a sure sign of her victory until she noticed the jagged purple marks on his face and the crimson eyes throwing daggers when his face jerked upwards and he lunged. The two other children - looking increasingly emaciated as they watched on in their trance - made no effort to interfere although their eyes were beginning to clear with each passing second.

" _ **INUYASHA**_!" Kikyo's voice suddenly rang out as she made it to the clearly, slightly out of breath from running towards the source of the scream. As she took in the extent of his injuries, the dead miko snarled as she pulled out her bow nocking it expertly and yelled viciously, "Oh, you're going to pay for that you _**bitch**_!"

And so the demoness did as the dead priestess let her arrow fly, the wind of spiritual energy whipping her hair up in a flurry of righteous rage as the arrow hit the mark and the demoness disintegrated into dust with a ear piercing scream.

The small hanyou - growing slightly as he turned his crimson eyes on the woman who stole his prey - snarled as he charged. Releasing a shuddering breath, Kikyo knelt down and held her arms out, her eyes never leaving his tiny form even as he thrust his small claws through her chest. Grunting in pain, she clutched the small thing to her chest and tried to summon spiritual energy - not to purify him but to bring him back to his senses before he lost himself. Her skin soon became lacerated and cracked as he struggled but she refused to give in.

"I love you," she whispered hoarsely, trying desperately not to scream in pain, "Come back to me. You need to come back for others who love you just as much for who you are. You need to be strong for _her_. She needs you. She _needs_ you."

As amber began leaking into his eyes and his body rapidly began changing into his originally form, Kikyo smiled genuinely at him in relief as she collapsed and a tear broke free before she crumbled into ash.

" _No_..."


	10. Chapter 10

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 **Small But Fierce**

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"What have I done?" Inuyasha muttered in disbelief as he fell to his knees, the excruciating pain cutting through his body nothing compared to the pain in his heart as tears began flowing down his cheeks like an angry current, "I...I didn't..."

" _Inuyasha_..." came a soft whisper, " _This was my choice to right the many wrongs of my past. I loved you as you are. Please know this. I am at peace knowing that in my next life I have acted as I wished I would have. You are perfect just as you are. In so many ways you saved me. Now it was my turn to return the favor. Live and find happiness._ "

Inuyasha wanted so desperately to believe her but as his vision blurred and his body grew colder with each passing second he just couldn't. Darkness encroached his mind and slowly the pain faded to nothing as his eyes fluttered closed and his heart faltered in his chest.

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Sesshomaru found them all with such speed and urgency it surprised the two remaining victims yet what happened next surprised them more. Upon seeing the hanyou laying unnaturally on the ground, the daiyoukai's normally stoic facade shattered. Releasing a shuddering breath, he knelt beside the only remaining reminder of his father. Tensaiga would do the boy no good.

When Inuyasha was young, so very young, his mother had done the unforgivable. It was a coward's way out. Her last action on this earth was to attempt to save her son from the torment of living such a cruel life by ending it before taking her own. How she accomplished such a thing he never knew but the moment he had seen the boy laying lifelessly in the forest where those men in the castle had so callously dumped their bodies, a wholly unwanted and unexpected emotion had flowed through his veins. The woman deserved to stay amongst the dead but Inuyasha...

It was not that he hated him. Truly it wasn't. It was more that he was a reminder of past mistakes. Rather than care for the resurrected child who possessed no memory of his demise, he abandoned him to the elements. All he wanted is to erase evidence of those acts from the earth. It was hatred of himself that drove his actions. He sought reconciliation through his care of Rin. He would not abandon another child. Never again.

A sudden shuddering gasp for air brought him out of his self-loathing and grief as the hanyou's heart beat again unsteadily, slowly, painfully. A single tear of relief escaped the daiyoukai's eye as he quickly scooped his...his _brother_ up along with the two other children as he sped back towards the village.

 **XXXXXXX**

The first thing Inuyasha realized was Kagome's sweet scent quickly followed by pain and grief. He had killed Kikyo, not intentionally but it was done. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to succumb to his injuries and wither away into nothing.

"Inuyasha, if you can hear me," Kagome's voice registered in his sensitive ears, "Stay with me. I love you more than you could ever know."

Unable to pretend any longer, Inuyasha let out a choked sob before the long erected walls crumbled around his heart. Instantly Kagome began trying to soothe him and as much as he believed he was unworthy of such mercy, he couldn't find the will to push her away as he reached up and drug her to lay beside him. Sobs wracked his body as she pulled him into her chest and rocked him gently.

"I killed her," he sobbed miserably over and over and over as he wrapped his arms around Kagome even tighter, "I killed her. I killed her."

 **XXXXXXX**

Inuyasha had taken to sitting in silence, a fair distance away from the others in his self-imposed isolation. He wouldn't eat with them, didn't talk with them, didn't touch them. It was strange but his wounds weren't healing as they should. Fresh blood soaked through his fire rat robe as though the wounds were being opened anew anytime any progress had been made. One night it finally clicked in the miko's brain why that would be and in that instant, the miko could take no more of his silent treatment. Plucking up her resolve, Kagome moved to sit next to him - relived beyond measure when he didn't get up to walk away as had been his M.O. for the past week. Glancing his way with glistening eyes, she asked quietly, "Are you...okay? Why don't you let me look at your wounds?"

"That isn't necessary." he told her dully, wincing when he realized she must've figured out what he had been doing, "I'll heal just fine on my own."

"Those injuries are very serious though. You don't need to suffer," she whispered as she reached out, retracting her hand like it burned when he flinched away from her.

"Keh ..." he grumbled, turning away for a moment before he added emotionlessly, "I'm a lot tougher than you weak humans."

 _So...we're back to 'that' Inuyasha, are we?_ Kagome thought in despair, praying that the last year of progress her friend had managed to make within himself and his general outlook on life had not been permanently erased by what he had done. Despite the knowledge that addressing the elephant in the room would only make him clam up more, Kagome raised her hand to gently cup his cheek to make him look at her, somewhat relieved to see that her Inuyasha was still in there, if not just barely.

"Stop punishing yourself," she whispered quietly, "I know what you're doing."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I...I'm leaving in the morning," he told her harshly even as he closed his eyes and leaned into her to touch -savoring this final moment but mainly praying that she would just let him leave so he could end his miserable life with her ever knowing, "There's something I need to do."

"Then I'll go with you," Kagome responded in a tone that left no room for argument, "I will not leave you alone. You're stuck with me."

Swallowing thickly, he closed his eyes before releasing a shuddering sigh. For some reason, the knowledge that he had struck the final blow that killed Kikyo haunted his every waking moment. It easily could've been one of the others or - his heart skipped a beat - it could've been, _would_ have been Kagome. He didn't want to think ill of Kikyo - especially given what she had sacrificed in order to bring him back from the brink - and it was true that she would forever hold a special place in his heart because she had been the first person after his mother to show him any manner of kindness whatsoever but until that final moment, she had never acted like she loved him just as he was. He was impure, unacceptable in this form. In a way, her final words had soothed some of the old scars in his chest as she admitted in her own way she had - in fact - loved him exactly. All that being said, Kagome definitely took the cake when it came to treating him like a normal person. A person she loved. But still... _still_...

"I killed her in cold blood and I could done the same to you," he whispered softly then turning his face away in self-disgust, "I'm...I'm..."

"You're Inuyasha. I don't really know what to tell you," Kagome said softly, once again gently forcing him to look at her, "But _nothing_ you could _ever_ do would make me stop loving you and in the end, the same went for her. We both knew you would die for us just the same as we would die for you."

Shaking his head morosely, Inuyasha tried to fight the impulse to drag his claws across his wounds to make the ache in his heart be replaced by something much more tangible. As though she sensed his thoughts, Kagome quickly took his hands in hers and held them tightly to her chest.

"Stop punishing yourself. I love you. I _need_ you to stay with me," she begged softly and in that moment, Kikyo's final words reverberated in his mind.

 _'She needs you... You are perfect just as you are...I have found peace...live...'_

Allowing a single tear to break free, he reached out and crushed Kagome tightly to his chest. Nuzzling her neck softly, he chuckled darkly at how comforting her scent and the feel of her embrace had become - magnified exponentially by the memory of her caring for him as a child. Not that he thought of her as such, not in the slightest but merely it made him love her all the more. Thinking back to Kikyo's last words, he decided he needed to live and say those three little words that he'd been keeping inside. He would live and try his best to move forward without looking back.

"I...I love you," he whispered hoarsely against her hair, a few tears breaking free without permission, "More than you could _ever_ know."

"So _stay_ with me," Kagome whispered as she held him tighter and placed a gentle kiss on his neck before pulling back and stroking his cheek with he back of her hand, "and let me care for those wounds."

Nodding gently, he knew in his heart that she wasn't only referring to those visible on his skin. In time, she would finally stitch up those old wounds on his soul. He wasn't okay and probably wouldn't be for quite some time but just as he saved Kagome so often, here she was saving him right back.


	11. Chapter 11

**XXXXXXX**

 **EPILOGUE**

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At first the others had been shocked but neither he nor Kagome could find it in themselves to care. All that mattered was that they each found comfort and peace in each other's arms. So they lay together night after night within the confines of Kagome's sleeping bag, nothing untoward _naturally_ …at least not in the _feudal_ era…it was far too dangerous to do some of the things they had done there. Days passed, then weeks, then a year and finally, finally Naraku was defeated and the jewel made whole.

Despite the celebrations going on around him, all Inuyasha could focus on was the steady beating of Kagome's heart, his efforts to memorize every tiny detail of her face, to imprint her scent permanently on his mind for you see, hanyou don't get happy endings. At least not one like him. Oh, he had made great strides to move forward the guilt that still ate away at his soul, handling it in a much more healthy manner with Kagome's help but still…he felt he didn't deserve any of her help or her love no matter how comforting.

That night, he lay next to her – clutching her tightly against his chest as he spooned her – savoring what may be the last time he ever got this privilege. The jewel was to be purified in the morning and past that…she might be ripped away from him forever.

Morning came all too soon and for a moment, as the jewel shone brightly in the sun before vanishing from Kagome's palm, it was as though the earth had pressed a giant pause button. No birds chirped, no one breath, the wind didn't even blow before it all slammed forward as a pink light blasted everyone in the vicinity off their feet. Desperately, amber eyes searched for his love as he called out her name – hoping beyond hope that she hadn't been ripped from this world when his eyes widened in disbelief. Out of the light came three figures.

 _Kagome._

 _Kikyo._

 _Izayoi._

"Midoriko gave me two additional wishes," Kagome muttered softly, her cheeks flushed a light pink, "Aside from wishing for the jewel to disappear. I thought it would…you were so sad and I…"

Breathing a happy sigh, Inuyasha rushed forward and crashed his lips down on his miko's before spinning her around in the air and turning to look at the other two women in his life who had been ripped away from him. Cocking his head to the side, his face fell slightly as the strong odor of shame and worry emanated off his mother.

Gently placing Kagome down, he approached her and smiled kindly, talking in a much more refined tone than anyone present ever recalled him speaking before, "Mother, whatever is the matter?"

"I made some terrible choices," she whispered as she averted her eyes and a tear slipped free, "I…I had felt…I took my own life…and I thought I took yours…but somehow you're still here. I left you all alone. I'm so...so glad that you didn't suffer at my hand and yet...and yet..."

For a moment, the two mikos and the half-demon stared at the woman in shock before Inuyasha did something that surprised both priestesses who were silently stewing in their own stew of anger and horror. Gently lifting his mother's chin, he wiped the tear from her cheek with him thumb as he whispered quietly, "I understand and I forgive you."

As the years passed, it became abundantly clear that Kagome's age as well as the rest of the inutaichi – including Rin – had their life spans tied to his own. The only rational explanation they could come up with is that Midoriko had made a wish of her own. Kikyo got her wish to see their puppy eared children and was as loving as any good aunt could ever wish to be. His mother went above and beyond to make amends – despite Inuyasha insistence that she was truly forgiven (if it wasn't for her actions, his life would never had led him to this point). Sango and Miroku had so many children it was almost obscene whereas Kagome and Inuyasha were happy to stop at five.

Life was perfect but _none_ of it would ever worked out this way were it not for that one stupid spell.

 **XXXXX FIN XXXXXX**

 **A/N: Know it got really dark really fast. Hope you enjoyed it!**


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